Conventional anti-theft systems predominantly try to catch the thief, rather than prevent or deter theft. The only deterrence is from the presence of the security tags on merchandise which implies to a customer that (s)he may be caught if (s)he tries to steal the merchandise. Most retailers do not stop possible thieves at the exit for fear of legal action or harm to the person stopping the possible thief. This lack of action negates the effectiveness of the anti-theft system or at least minimizes the effectiveness.